Endless loop tape recorder

ABSTRACT

A combined dictating and transcribing machine uses an endless magnetic tape of a length sufficient for several hours recording. The machine - herein referred to as an &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;endless tape recorder&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; - comprises separate dictating and transcribing units with independent tape driving mechanisms and a single storage bin or tank below these units to receive the inner and outer runs of the tape. Each run may comprise multitudinous loops folded back and forth on itself. A tank vibrator serves to overcome friction and static effects to keep the tape loops settled in the storage bin. A safety drive control and warning system comprises a first switch operated when the inner run is drawn taut and a second switch operated when the outer run is tensioned. A feature of the invention is that as the outer run is tensioned it will pick up the looped mass or bundle of the tape then constituting the inner run to operate the second safety switch and that when it has lifted the bundle to the top of the storage bin it operates also the first safety switch.

United States Patent Kobler et al. 1 Oct. 17, 1972 [54] ENDLESS LOOPTAPE RECORDER 685,032 12/1952 Great Britain ..l79/ 100.2 Z

72 lnventors: Richard Kobler, Zu Switzerland; 1 William R Fag",lglochene Park, Primary Examiner-J. Russell Goudeau NJ. Attorney-GeorgeH. Fritzinger [73] Assignee: itficGraw-Edison Company, Elgin, [57]ABSTRACT h A combined dictating and transcribing machine uses [22] Fled:Much 1971 an endless magnetic tape of a length sufficient for 21] App].N 122,349 several hours recording. The machine herein referred to as anendless tape recorder comprises separate dictating and transcribingunits with indepen- [52] "274/4 179/1002 2 dent tape driving mechanismsand a single storage bin or tank below these units to receive the innerand outer runs of the tape. Each run may comprise mu]- [118 titudinousloops folded back and forth on itself. A tank vibrator serves toovercome friction and static ef- 56] Reierences Cited fects to keep thetape loops settled in the storage bin. A safety drive control andwarning system comprises a UNITED STATES PATENTS firsjt switchoaeratectl1 when thi:l inr}iler ru: is drawn taut an a secon switcoperate w en t e outer run is 323333 g tensioned. A feature of theinvention is that as the 6/1961 2 Z outer run is tensioned it will pickup the looped mass 35526l8 1/1971 l79/l002 Z or bundle of the tape thenconstituting the inner run 35968l8 1 C i 226/118 to operate the secondsafety switch and that when it u has lifted the bundle to the top of thestorage bin it FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS Operates also the firstsafety Switchl53,064 8/ 1951 Australia ..l79/l00.2 Z 17 Claims, 7Drawing Figures PATENTEDum 17 m2 sum 1 or 3 I.'\"VE.\ TOR KO BLERWILLIAM F. FAGAN BY AGENT RICHARD ,P'A'TENTEDUBT 7 BR SHEET 3 BF 3 :1 aSEC.

. B a P C Y RICHARD WILL P AGENT ENDLESS LOOP TAPE RECORDER An object ofthe invention is to provide an endless tape recorder of the charactermentioned using a single storage bin for both the inner and outer runsof the tape between the dictating and transcribing stations.

Another object of the invention is to provide such endless tape recorderwith safeguarding features operated when either the inner run or theouter run of the tape reaches a tautened condition.

Another object of the invention is to provide a storage bin in which thetape has only a clearance fit to prevent snarling of the tape.

Another object is to provide such endless tape recorder wherein theouter run picks up the entire bundle of the looped mass constituting theinner run when the outer run reaches a tautened condition.

Another object is to provide a first control switch operated at thebeginning of pick up of the inner run of the tape by the outer run and asecond control switch operated with a delayed action when the outer runhas lifted the inner run of the tape to the top of the storage bin.

Another object is to provide such endless tape recorder wherein the binis subjected to a periodic vibration to overcome friction and staticeffects and allow the tape loops to settle in the bin.

These and other objects and features of the invention will be apparentfrom the following description and the appended claims.

In the description of our invention, reference is had to theaccompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view with the side cover removed showingall of the tape in the storage bin constituted in the outer run;

FIG. 2 is a fractional sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view to smaller scale of the storage bin showing allof the tape in the bin constituted in the inner run and being lifted bythe outer run;

FIG. 4 is a view of one of the pinch rollers and the mounting levertherefor of the scan drive mechanism as seen from the line 44 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side view of this pinch roller and mounting lever as seen inFIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a front view of the friction drive coupling between the drivemotor and the tape feed roller at the dictators station; and

FIG. 7 is a simplified schematic drawing of the control circuitry of thetape recorder.

The present recorder-reproducer has an upstanding rectangular cabinet 10mounted for example on casters 11. In the upper portion of the cabinetis mounted a recording or dictating unit 12 and a reproducing ortranscribing unit 13. These two units aremounted in line at the samelevel and operate in connection with an endless tape 14. Looking at themachine from the front side, as shown in FIG. 1, the tape 14 is ledthrough the dictating unit 12 from right to left, then downwardly out ofthe dictating unit and across via an inner run 15 to the right side ofthe transcribing unit 13, then through the transcribing unit from rightto left and downwardly out of the transcribing unit at the left side ofthe machine, and then back via anouter run 16 to the input of thedictating unit. The inner and outer runs of the tape are stored in a bin17 having a width accepting the tape with just a clearance spacing.Since the a scan motor 21 and a transcribing drive motor 22.

Each scan motor 19 and 21 is mounted below the lower right portion ofthe respective unit, and has a drive pulley 23 receiving a belt 24. Thebelt is trained partially around a first driven pulley 25, then up andaround an idler pulley 26, next downwardly and around a second drivenpulley 27 and back to the motor drive pulley 23. The two driven pulleys25 and 27 are provided with concentric friction feed rollers 28 and 29.At the right side of each feed roller 28 is an associated pressure orpinch roller 30 joumaled on the lower end of a lever arm 31 itselfpivoted on a stud 32 at its upper end. At the left side of each frictionfeed roller 29 there is a pressure or pinch roller 33 journaled on thelower end of a lever arm 34 itself pivoted on a stud 35 at its upperend. Each lever arm 31 has a right angle arm 36 to which a tensionspring 37 is connected biasing the pressure roller 30 out of contactwith the associated feed roller 28, and each lever arm 34 has a rightangle arm 38. The spaces between the feed and pressure rollers 28-30form tape inlet openings to the respective dictating and transcribingunits, and the spaces between the feed and pressure rollers 29-33 formtape outlet openings from the respective dictating and transcribingunits. Coupled to the arm 36 at the dictating unit is a reverse scansolenoid 40 and to the arm 38 at the dictating unit is a forward scansolenoid 41. Likewise, coupled to the arm 36 at the transcribing unit isa reverse scan solenoid 42 and to the arm 38 at the transcribing unit isa forward scan solenoid 43. The weight of the plungers 41a and 43a ofthe solenoids 41 and 43 serve to bias the pressure rollers 33 lightlyagainst the feed rollers 29.

The tape 14 is led from the space 28-30 upwardly in a circuitous patharound the inner side of a guide stud 44 and the outer side of anadjacent guide stud 45 across a conventional magnetic head 46 ofsuitable design on which the tape is held by a pair of friction pads 47.Next the tape is led across another magnetic head 52 on which it is heldby a friction pad 53. This head is provided only for recording a controlsignal. The two pads 47 are mounted on the ends of a rocker 55 fulcrumedat the center to a lever 56. The pad 53 is mounted on a lever 57. Thelevers 56 and 57 are crisscrossed and pivoted at their outer ends onstuds 58 and 59. A tension spring 60 between the short arms on the hubsof the levers serves to bias the levers so that the pads 47 and 53 arespring urged against the heads 46 and 52. After leaving the head 52 thetape is led around a friction feed roller 61 on a flywheel 61a. Thisflywheel is coupled by a friction roller 63 to the drive roller 20a ofthe motor 20. From the drive roller 61 the tape is led downwardlythrough the space 29-33 to the inner run 15.

The inner run 15 leads into the transcribing station through the spacebetween the friction rollers 2830 and then upwardly via a circuitouspath around the.

inner side of a guide stud 64 and the outer side of an adjacent guidestud 65. From there the tape is led under guide posts 66 and across aninterventing magnetic head 67 which is of the audio playback type. Thetape is retained frictionally on the head 67 by a pad 68 on a lever 69pivoted at 70 and urged by a tension spring 71 to cause the pad to exertpressure on the magnetic head. From the head 67 the tape is led around afriction feed roller 72 on a flywheel 73. The flywheel is coupled by afriction clutch roller 74 to the drive roller 22a of the transcriberdrive motor 22. The reason for leading the tape under the guide posts 66is to add drag resistance to the feed of the tape. From the drive roller72 the tape is led downwardly through the outlet space 29-33 of thetranscribing unit to the outer run 16 of the tape.

At the dictating station there is a pressure roller 77 overlying thefeed roller 61 which is journaled on a lever 78 itself pivoted on a stud79. A tension spring 80 connected ,to the lever 78 normally holds thepressure roller disengaged from the feed roller but on actuation of asolenoid 81 an armature 81a thereof is activated against the lever 78 toengage the pressure roller 77 with the feed roller 61 and start anadvance of the tape at a slow steady speed suitable for recording.Similarly, at the transcribing station there is a pressure roller 82overlying the feed roller 72 which is journaled on a lever 83 itselfpivoted on a stud 84.A tension spring 85 connected to the lever 83normally holds the pressure roller disengaged from the feed roller buton actuation of a solenoid 86 an armature 86a thereof is activatedagainst the lever 83 to engage the pressure roller 82 with the feedroller 72 and start an advance of the tape at a slow steady speedsuitable for transcribing.

During recording the motor is running and the solenoid 81 is energizedto engage the pressure roller 77 with the feed roller 61 but the scancontrol solenoids 40 and 41 are both deenergized. However, the pressureroller 33 at the output end of the dictator's station is engaged lightlywith the feed roller 27 by the weight of the plunger 41a to provide anover drive with light slippage to take up the tape ahead of the feedroller 61 and feed it into the bin 17. The pressure roller -at the inputend of the dictators station is held disengaged from the feed roller 28by the spring 37 but by the same spring action a drag is placed on thetape by pressure of a shoe 87, as of felt padding, mounted on aright-angle extension 88 of the lever 31 against an anvil 89 on theframe portion 90 of the machine.

Similarly, there is a shoe 91 on a right angle extension 92 of the lever34 which is operable against an anvil 93 on the frame 90. During forwardscanning the drive solendid 81 and the scan solenoid are not energizedand the scan solenoid 41 is energized. The

shoe 87 is now engaged by the spring 37 to provide a drag on the tape atthe input of the dictators station. During reverse scanning the drivesolenoid 81 and scan solenoid 41 are not energized and the scan solenoid40 is energized. Through a coupling rod 96 secured at one end to thelever 31 and coupled to the lever 34 at the other end through acompression spring 97 the shoe 91 is held lightly against the anvil 93to provide a drag on the tape at the point where the tape leads into thestation.

At the transcribers station the lever 31 has a shoe 98 operable againstan anvil 99, the lever 34 has a shoe I00 operable against an anvil 101and there is a yieldable coupling between the levers 31 and 34 by meansof a rod 102 and compression spring 103, the same as at the recorderstation.

Further, the pressure rollers 30 and 33 are provided with deepperipheral slots 30s and 33s as shown in F168. 1 and 4. Passing throughthese slots is a finger 104a extending from a guide strip 104 of abracket 105 secured to the back side of each lever 31 and 34. Theseguide strips bow the tape crosswise thereof to give it rigidity so thatit will not buckle between the scan drive rollers and therecord-reproduce heads of the stations.

Because of friction of the the tape with the side walls of the bin 17and of static effects the tape loops 18 will at times not settle down toallow storage of the whole run of the tape in the bin. These effects areovercome by a thumper solenoid 106 having an armature 1060 which isactuated impulsively against the inner wall 170 of the bin each time thesolenoid is energized. The solenoid 106 is energized intermittently atabout 5 second intervals from a d. 0. source as through an astablemultivibrator 107 as shown in FIG. 2.

The advantage of an endless tape recorderreproducer of the typeabove-described is that it permits independent recording andtranscribing at the same time up to the points i) where the dictator hascaught up with the transcriber causing the outer run 16 of the tape tobe drawn taut between the two stations, and 2) where the transcriber hascaught up with the dictator causing the inner run 15 of the tape to bedrawn taut between the two stations. Further, it will be understood theouter run 16 may be drawn taut by the transcriber backfeeding to thepoint of reaching nearly the dictator and the inner run 15 of the tapemay be drawn taut by the dictator backfeeding to the point of nearlyreaching the transcriber. In any of these events it is essential thatsuitable warning and drive control mechanisms be operated to safeguardthe tape from breakage and to prevent either the dictator or thetranscriber from inadvertently interfering with the operation of theother.

In accordance with the invention a safety warning and drive controlsystem is provided comprising upper and lower safety control switches108 and 109. The first safety control switch 108 is operated when theinner run 15 of the tape is drawn taut between the two stations. As thetape is so tautened it lifts a foam plastic disk 110 on the end of aleaf spring of the switch closing the switch. The second safety controlswitch 109 is a double throw micro switch located at the bottom of thestorage bin 17 and is operable by a lever 111 resting normally on thepush button 109a of the switch 109. The switch 109 is biasedsufficiently so that it is not operated by the weight of the lever 11 1,but the weight of the lever plus that of the outer run 16 of the tapebetween the two stations is sufficient to hold the switch 109 operated.Thus, as soon as the outer run 16 of the tape is tensioned to the pointwhere it begins to lift the inner run of the tape the switch 109 isreleased and thrown to its other position. With continued operation ofthe machine in the same manner the inner run of the tape is graduallylifted by the outer run to where it will reach the top of the bin atwhich point the switch 108 will be operated with a delayed actionrelative to the release of the switch 109. These operations of the twosafety switches provide the following warning and drive controloperations with reference to FIG. 7.

When the upper run is drawn taut to close switch 108 a relay 111 isenergized from plus terminal 112 via the switch 108, line 113 and anegative or ground terminal 114. When the relay 111 is operated groundis applied to a forward inhibit" line 115 of a secretary control network116 via No. 2 contacts of the relay 11 1 and normally closed No. 3contacts of a relay 117. This causes the network 116 to disable thesolenoids 43 and 86 thereby preventing any forward drive of the tape atthe secretarys station. Also, the No. 1 contacts of the relay 111 arenow opened to disable the reverse scan solenoid 40 which prevents rewindof the tape by the dictator.

When the dictator has used all available tape the tautening of the outerrun 16 operates the switch 109 from its a to b contacts. This removesground 1 14 from a near end warning network 118 provided the dictator isthen running the machine by depressing the start control S causingactuation of a relay 119 and opening of its No. 3 contacts to remove thealternative ground connection via the lines 120. This network 118includes as astable multivibrator 121 controlling a relay 122 which inturn controls the feedout on a line 123 of a beep signal from a tonegenerator 124. The line 123 is connected to the dictators handpiece 125to give the dictator an intermittent warning signal that he is nearingthe end of the available tape to the point where the outer run 16 isbeginning to pick up the whole bundle of the inner run of the tape.Among other things being the same, the dictator can record only 15seconds longer and the whole bundle of the tape will be raised tooperate also the safety switch 108 which stops then all furtheroperation of the machine as is herein later described. Further, when theswitch 109 is operated it sends ground via a line 126 to a backspacecontrol network 127. This disables the solenoid 42 to prevent rewindingby the transcriber or secretary. Normal operation is restored wheneither the secretary runs the tape forward or the dictator rewinds thetape.

If the dictator continues to run the tape forward after the beep signalcomes on as until the bundle of the tape is raised to the top of the binto operate also the safety switch 108, the relay 111 is also energizedclosing its No. 3 contacts to operate the relay 117 from plus terminal112 via lead wire 129, No. 3 contacts of relay 1 11, line 130 and bcontacts of switch 109. The relay 1 17 then locks on over its No. 4contacts paralleling the No. 3 contacts of the relay 111. When the relay117 operates its No. 1 contacts break a ground 131 from a SE relay 132which stops all dictator operations of advance solenoids 41 and 81.Further, the No. 2 contacts of relay 117 are closed to apply steadyground 114 to the relay 122 of network 118 via lead wire 113, switch108, lead wire 133, No. 2 contacts of relay 117 and lead wire 134. Thisproduces a steady tone in the dictator's handset 125. When the dictatorhangs up there is no run-out of the tape because the SE relay 132 isheld not operated by the No. 1 contacts of relay 117 being open.Further, operation of the No. 1 contacts applies power to a signal light135 to keep the secretary's lamp turned on.

When the secretary runs the tape ahead the safety switch 108 is firstreturned and then the safety switch 109 is returned causing the relays111 and 117 to drop out. This will reoperate the SE relay 132 to reablethe machine for normal use.

The description of our invention herein particularly shown and describedis intended to be illustrative and not necessarily limitative of ourinvention since the same is subject to changes and modifications withoutdeparture from the scope of our invention, which we endeavor to expressaccording to the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a machine for recording on and/or reproducing from a single recordmedium: the combination of an endless magnetic tape, a recording stationincluding a recorder-reproducer head and a drive means engageable withthe tape to feed the tape in either direction, a separate reproducingstation horizontally in line with said recording station including areproducer head and a drive means engageable with the tape to feed thetape in either direction, said tape being led from the output of one ofsaid stations via an inner run to the input of the other, and from theoutput of said other station via an outer run to the input of said onestation, and said tape having a length causing said inner and/or outerruns to loop back and forth in the formation of bundles, a single binfor storing said inner and outer runs of the tape between said stations,said bin having a width greater only by clearance spacing than the widthof said tape to confine said loops in a vertical formation, and safetycontrol means comprising a first safety control switch operable by atautening of the inner run of the tape between said stations and asecond safety control switch operable by drawing the outer run of thetape taut sufficient to lift bodily the inner run of the tape.

2. The machine set forth in claim 1 including friction pads engagingsaid heads with a sufficient pressure to prevent slippage of the tape bythe weight of said inner and/or outer runs when said drive means aredisengaged from the tape.

3. The machine set forth in claim 1 including means operable by saidsecond safety control switch for feeding an intermittent near-endwarning signal to the recording station and for disabling a reversedrive of the tape at said reproducing station.

4. The machine set forth in claim 1 including means responsive to saidsafety control means at the start of pick up of said bundle of tape by areverse drive of the tape at said reproducing station for generating awarning signal at said recording station.

5. The machine set forth in claim 1, including means responsive to saidsafety control means at the start of pick up of said bundle of tape by areverse drive of the tape at said reproducing station for stopping saidreverse drive of the tape.

6. The machine set forth in claim 1, including means responsive to saidsafety control means at the start of pick up of said bundle of tape by aforward drive of the tape at said recording station for generating awarning signal at said recording station.

7. The machine set forth in claim 1 wherein said bin has a heightsubstantially greater than that required for storing said entirequantity of the tape, including means responsive to a lifting of saidbundle of the tape to the upper portion of said bin by a forward driveof the tape at said recording station for stopping said forward drive.

8. The machine set forth in claim 1 including means operable by saidfirst safety control switch for disabling the forward drive of the tapeat said other station and a reverse drive of the tape at said onestation.

9. The machine set forth in claim 1 including means for operating alsosaid first safety switch when the bundle of the tape constituting theinner run is lifted to the top of said bin by a' continued tautening ofthe outer run of the tape.

10. The machine set forth in claim 9 including means rendered operablewhen both of said safety control switches are operated for feedingsteady warning signals to the recording and reproducing stations.

1 1. The machine set forth in claim 9 including means rendered operablewhen both of said safety control switches are operated for disablingboth the forward drive of the tape at said recording station and thereverse drive of the tape at the reproducing station.

12. In a machine for recording on and/or reproducing from a singlerecord medium: the combination of an endless magnetic tape, a recordingstation including a recorder-reproducer head and a drive meansengageable with the tape to feed the tape in either direction, aseparate reproducing station horizontally in line with said recordingstation including a reproducer head and a drive means engageable withthe tape to feed the tape in either direction, said tape being led fromthe output of one of said stations via an inner run to the input of theother, and from the output of said other station via an outer run to theinput of said one station, and said tape having a length causing saidinner and/or outer runs to loop back and forth in the formation ofbundles, a single bin for storing said inner and outer runs of the tapebetween said stations, said bin having a width greater only by clearancespacing than the width of said tape to confine said loops in a verticalformation, and said bin having a depth greater than that required forstoring the entire quantity of said tape between said stations looped onitself in a bundle, and a plurality of safety control switchesrespectively operable by a lifting of the inner run of the tape by saidouter run to predetermined different heights in said bin.

13. in a machine for recording and/or reproducing from a single recordmedium: the combination of an endless magnetic tape, recording andtranscribing stations each including a translating head, a drive motorhaving a drive capstan and a pressure roller for engaging the tape withsaid capstan to advance the tape in a forward direction at a recordingspeed, a scan motor, a pair of drive friction rollers coupled to saidscan motor and pressure rollers for selectively engaging the tape withsaid drive rollers to advance or backspace the tape at a scanning speed,said tape being lead between said stations via inner and outer runs, abin for holding the tape looped on itself in a bundle between saidstations, said bin having a width sufficient only to receive the tapewith a clearance fit whereby to confine the tape loops in a verticalformation, and controi means for said machine operatively associatedwith the tape in said bin and differently operable by a tensioning ofsaid inner run, by a lifting of the whole bundle of the tape from thebottom of said bin and by the lifting of the hole bundl f the ta e tothe to of s id bin. w 14. In a n izibhine f r recording and iorreproducing from a single endless magnetic tape medium: the combinationof record and reproduce stations, each of said stations including anormal forward drive engageable at will with the tape and forward andreverse scan drives, each of said forward and reverse scan drivesincluding forward and reverse drive wheels and respective pressurerollers for frictionally engaging the tape with said drive wheels,solenoids for engaging the reverse pressure rollers at said stations,spring means for holding said reverse pressure rollers disengaged whenthe respective solenoids are not energized, and solenoids for engagingthe forward pressure rollers at said stations, said latter solenoidsbeing vertically positioned to cause their armatures to weight bias theforward pressure rollers lightly to take up the tape ahead of saidnormal forward drives when the latter are engaged.

15. The machine set forth in claim I4 including an intercoupling betweensaid reverse and forward scan drives at said stations for removing saidbias on the forward scan pressure rollers when the respective reversescan pressure rollers are engaged.

16. The machine set forth in claim 14 including friction meansassociated with each scan drive for placing a drag resistance on thetape when the respective scan drive is disengaged, each of said frictionmeans being associated with the tape adjacent the respective scan driveat the side of the scan drive away from the respective station.

17. The machine set forth in claim 14 including means associated witheach scan drive to how the tape crosswise thereof and impart stiffnessto the tape to cause the tape to be propelled positively from therespective scan drives.

1. In a machine for recording on and/or reproducing from a single recordmedium: the combination of an endless magnetic tape, a recording stationincluding a recorder-reproducer head and a drive means engageable withthe tape to feed the tape in either direction, a separate reproducingstation horizontally in line with said recording station including areproducer head and a drIve means engageable with the tape to feed thetape in either direction, said tape being led from the output of one ofsaid stations via an inner run to the input of the other, and from theoutput of said other station via an outer run to the input of said onestation, and said tape having a length causing said inner and/or outerruns to loop back and forth in the formation of bundles, a single binfor storing said inner and outer runs of the tape between said stations,said bin having a width greater only by clearance spacing than the widthof said tape to confine said loops in a vertical formation, and safetycontrol means comprising a first safety control switch operable by atautening of the inner run of the tape between said stations and asecond safety control switch operable by drawing the outer run of thetape taut sufficient to lift bodily the inner run of the tape.
 2. Themachine set forth in claim 1 including friction pads engaging said headswith a sufficient pressure to prevent slippage of the tape by the weightof said inner and/or outer runs when said drive means are disengagedfrom the tape.
 3. The machine set forth in claim 1 including meansoperable by said second safety control switch for feeding anintermittent near-end warning signal to the recording station and fordisabling a reverse drive of the tape at said reproducing station. 4.The machine set forth in claim 1 including means responsive to saidsafety control means at the start of pick up of said bundle of tape by areverse drive of the tape at said reproducing station for generating awarning signal at said recording station.
 5. The machine set forth inclaim 1, including means responsive to said safety control means at thestart of pick up of said bundle of tape by a reverse drive of the tapeat said reproducing station for stopping said reverse drive of the tape.6. The machine set forth in claim 1, including means responsive to saidsafety control means at the start of pick up of said bundle of tape by aforward drive of the tape at said recording station for generating awarning signal at said recording station.
 7. The machine set forth inclaim 1 wherein said bin has a height substantially greater than thatrequired for storing said entire quantity of the tape, including meansresponsive to a lifting of said bundle of the tape to the upper portionof said bin by a forward drive of the tape at said recording station forstopping said forward drive.
 8. The machine set forth in claim 1including means operable by said first safety control switch fordisabling the forward drive of the tape at said other station and areverse drive of the tape at said one station.
 9. The machine set forthin claim 1 including means for operating also said first safety switchwhen the bundle of the tape constituting the inner run is lifted to thetop of said bin by a continued tautening of the outer run of the tape.10. The machine set forth in claim 9 including means rendered operablewhen both of said safety control switches are operated for feedingsteady warning signals to the recording and reproducing stations. 11.The machine set forth in claim 9 including means rendered operable whenboth of said safety control switches are operated for disabling both theforward drive of the tape at said recording station and the reversedrive of the tape at the reproducing station.
 12. In a machine forrecording on and/or reproducing from a single record medium: thecombination of an endless magnetic tape, a recording station including arecorder-reproducer head and a drive means engageable with the tape tofeed the tape in either direction, a separate reproducing stationhorizontally in line with said recording station including a reproducerhead and a drive means engageable with the tape to feed the tape ineither direction, said tape being led from the output of one of saidstations via an inner run to the input of the other, and from the outputof said other station via an outer run to the input of said one station,and said tape having a length causing said inner and/or outer runs toloop back and forth in the formation of bundles, a single bin forstoring said inner and outer runs of the tape between said stations,said bin having a width greater only by clearance spacing than the widthof said tape to confine said loops in a vertical formation, and said binhaving a depth greater than that required for storing the entirequantity of said tape between said stations looped on itself in abundle, and a plurality of safety control switches respectively operableby a lifting of the inner run of the tape by said outer run topredetermined different heights in said bin.
 13. In a machine forrecording and/or reproducing from a single record medium: thecombination of an endless magnetic tape, recording and transcribingstations each including a translating head, a drive motor having a drivecapstan and a pressure roller for engaging the tape with said capstan toadvance the tape in a forward direction at a recording speed, a scanmotor, a pair of drive friction rollers coupled to said scan motor andpressure rollers for selectively engaging the tape with said driverollers to advance or backspace the tape at a scanning speed, said tapebeing lead between said stations via inner and outer runs, a bin forholding the tape looped on itself in a bundle between said stations,said bin having a width sufficient only to receive the tape with aclearance fit whereby to confine the tape loops in a vertical formation,and control means for said machine operatively associated with the tapein said bin and differently operable by a tensioning of said inner run,by a lifting of the whole bundle of the tape from the bottom of said binand by the lifting of the whole bundle of the tape to the top of saidbin.
 14. In a machine for recording and/or reproducing from a singleendless magnetic tape medium: the combination of record and reproducestations, each of said stations including a normal forward driveengageable at will with the tape and forward and reverse scan drives,each of said forward and reverse scan drives including forward andreverse drive wheels and respective pressure rollers for frictionallyengaging the tape with said drive wheels, solenoids for engaging thereverse pressure rollers at said stations, spring means for holding saidreverse pressure rollers disengaged when the respective solenoids arenot energized, and solenoids for engaging the forward pressure rollersat said stations, said latter solenoids being vertically positioned tocause their armatures to weight bias the forward pressure rollerslightly to take up the tape ahead of said normal forward drives when thelatter are engaged.
 15. The machine set forth in claim 14 including anintercoupling between said reverse and forward scan drives at saidstations for removing said bias on the forward scan pressure rollerswhen the respective reverse scan pressure rollers are engaged.
 16. Themachine set forth in claim 14 including friction means associated witheach scan drive for placing a drag resistance on the tape when therespective scan drive is disengaged, each of said friction means beingassociated with the tape adjacent the respective scan drive at the sideof the scan drive away from the respective station.
 17. The machine setforth in claim 14 including means associated with each scan drive to bowthe tape crosswise thereof and impart stiffness to the tape to cause thetape to be propelled positively from the respective scan drives.